Copenhagen Central Station (, ; abbreviated ''København H'', colloquially usually referred to as ''Hovedbanegården'' or simply ''Hovedbanen'') is the

main railway station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

in Copenhagen,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and the largest railway station in Denmark. With more than 100,000 travellers every day, it is the second busiest station in Denmark after

Nørreport station The fortifications of Copenhagen underwent a comprehensive modernization and expansion in the 17th century. The project was commenced and was largely the masterplan of Christian IV in the early 17th century but was continued and completed by his s ...

. It is located in central Copenhagen, situated between the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

Indre By Indre By (English language, English: ), also known as Copenhagen Center or K or Downtown Copenhagen, is an districts of Copenhagen, administrative district (''bydel'') in central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It covers an area of , has a p ...

and Vesterbro with entrances from Bernstorffsgade (opposite

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli (), is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Kla ...

), Banegårdspladsen,

Reventlowsgade Reventlowsgade is a street in the Vesterbro, Copenhagen, Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, which follows the "Vesterbro side" of Copenhagen Central Station, between Vesterbrogade to the northwest and Tietgensgade to the southeast. One of ...

and access to platforms from

Tietgensgade Tietgensgade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from H. C. Andersens Boulevard in the northeast to Kvægtorvgade at the Kødbyen, Meat-Packing District in the southwest, linking Stormgade in the city centre with Ingerslevsgade and ...

. Copenhagen Central Station is the hub of the DSB railway network serving Denmark and international destinations. It offers

International Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

services to Sweden and Germany,

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

and

Express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes few or no stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, providing faster service than local trains that stop at many or all of the stations along their ...

services across Denmark, regular and frequent

regional train Regional rail is a public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connecting smaller cities a ...

services to and from

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

and southern Sweden (also referred to as Øresund trains),

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

services of the Copenhagen

S-train The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

network across the

Greater Copenhagen The urban area of Copenhagen (also known as Greater Copenhagen) ( or ), lying mostly in the Capital Region of Denmark but also in Region Zealand, consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen County. In all, it ...

area, as well as lines M3 (

City Circle Line The M3 line or City Circle Line is a loop line of the Copenhagen Metro. It has been claimed by COWI A/S that the line is the largest construction project to have taken place in Copenhagen during the last 400 years.Copenhagen Metro network. The first station in Copenhagen opened in 1847. The current station building opened in 1911 and is the work of architect

Heinrich Wenck Heinrich (Henry) Emil Charles Wenck (10 March 1851 – 3 February 1936) was a Danish architect, known for the numerous railway stations he designed in his capacity of chief architect for the Danish State Railways from 1894 to 1921. During the yea ...

. The station has 7 platforms and 13 tracks. On the station concourse there are many small shops, restaurants, cafés, and fast food outlets.

Location

The central station is located in the centre of Copenhagen, on the south-eastern perimeter of the historic

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

, between the

city districts A city district, also known as an urban district or neighbourhood, is a designated administrative division that is generally managed by a local government. It is used to divide a city into several administrative units. City districts are used ...

and Vesterbro. The station complex is bounded by the streets Bernstorffsgade, Banegårdspladsen,

and

, the latter of which crosses the station throat on Tietgensbroen (''the Tietgen's Bridge)''. One of the main arteries of Copenhagen,

Vesterbrogade Vesterbrogade () is the main shopping street of the Vesterbro, Copenhagen, Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1.5 km long street runs from the City Hall Square, Copenhagen, City Hall Square in the east to Pile Allé in Frederiksbe ...

, crosses the railway tracks a short distance to the north of the station. The station is situated in a dense urban environment; To the east, it is immediately adjacent to the inner-city

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

. To the north, opposite the main portal on Banegårdspladsen, stands the

Liberty Memorial The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri was opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial. In 2004, it was designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World Wa ...

in Vesterbrogade, erected in 1797 to commemorate the abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

in Denmark. Banegårdspladsen is surrounded by the historic hotels Hotel Plaza, Hotel Astoria from 1935, and Hotel Royal from 1960, designed by Danish architect and designer

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects, Hon. FAIA (; 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to functionalism (architec ...

. To the west of the station starts

Istedgade Istedgade (also called ''Strassen'') is a 1-kilometer straight street in the district of Vesterbro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It starts at Copenhagen Central Station and runs parallel to Vesterbrogade to Enghave Plads and Enghaveparken ...

, which developed into an

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

, and

red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

after the station opened, but has undergone a partial

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

process in later years. The station building has entrances from Bernstorffsgade, Banegårdspladsen and Reventlowsgade, and the platforms have direct access via stairs from Tietgensbroen. The underground metro station can be accessed directly from the platforms by an

underpass A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing running underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor or train traffic. Terminology In the United States, as ...

under the tracks but also has its own, separate entrance in Stampesgade outside the station complex.

History

First station

The first railway station in Copenhagen was constructed on behalf of '' Det Sjællandske Jernbaneselskab'' (''the Zealand Railway Company'') to serve as the eastern

terminal station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...

of the new Copenhagen–Roskilde railway line from

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, the first railway line in the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

. The station was ceremonially opened by King Christian VIII amid great festivities on 26 June 1847 along with the railway line, which was prolonged from Roskilde to the

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

Korsør Korsør is a town in Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Korsør was the seat of Korsør Municipality. The town is located west of Slagelse, north-west of Skælskør and connects to Nyborg thr ...

by the

Great Belt The Great Belt (, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Belt ferries fr ...

in 1856. For the opening the Danish composer

Hans Christian Lumbye Hans Christian Lumbye (; 2 May 1810 – 20 March 1874) was a Danish composer of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and galops, among other things. Beginnings As a child, he studied music in Randers and Odense, and by age 14 he was playing the trumpet ...

composed the still popular ''

Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop The ''Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop'' (), often just called the ''Railway Galop'' (), is a musical composition by the Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye (1810–1874) which was written to celebrate the opening of the Copenhagen–Roskilde r ...

'', a

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

which faithfully recreates the sounds of a train chugging out of a station and grinding to a halt at the next stop. The Danish author

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

was also very enthusiastic about the first railway and wrote that driving a train was like flying. The station was located at the site of ''

Dronningens Enghave Dronningens Enghave () was a seventeenth-century royal pleasure garden located just outside the Western City Gate of Copenhagen, Denmark, roughly where Tivoli Gardens and Copenhagen Central Station lies today. History The garden was established by ...

'' (''the Queen's Meadow Garden''), a former royal

pleasure garden A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls, b ...

located just outside the Vesterport (''Western Gate'')

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

of Copenhagen. The first station was located approximately at the site of the current station, but the tracks were perpendicular to their current direction, as the railway line then left the city along the current streets

Halmtorvet Halmtorvet ( English: The Haymarket) is a public square in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located next to Copenhagen Central Station in front of the Meat District. The oblong square eventually turns into Sønder Boulevard ...

and Sønder Boulevard. The

station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, ...

was constructed of wood as it was built outside the city's fortifications within the

demarcation line {{Refimprove, date=January 2008 A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire. Africa * Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahraw ...

, a no-build zone outside the ramparts where brick buildings were not allowed for military reasons. In case of war, the army should be able to burn buildings in the firing range outside the ramparts. This railway station and the still existing Roskilde station (which is built in brick) are both linked to a largely unknown architect named L.F. Meyer (or Meier). But it has also been suggested that the railway station in Copenhagen should be attributed to the architect

Harald Conrad Stilling Harald Conrad Stilling (9 February 1815 – 29 November 1891) was a Danish architect who was active in Copenhagen during the Late Classical period of the mid-18th century. He received the C. F. Hansen Medal in 1841. Early life and educatio ...

, as there are strong similarities between the railway station and Stilling's

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

in the

. Both buildings are characterized by Italian rural architecture, and Stilling was one of the most well-versed architects of this Italian style, just as he had insight into wood construction from his assignments at Tivoli. For both station buildings, a motif with two

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

s without

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

s is a central part of the composition (the towers at Roskilde station were crowned by a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

until 1873, when they were covered by pyramid roofs). The first station building was demolished in 1865.

Second station

In the 1860s, there were several plans to expand the railway network in Denmark, and in particular to connect a northbound line to

North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand (), refers to the northeastern part of the Danish island of Zealand. The Danish tourist authorities have recently introduced the term Danish Riviera to cover the area in view of its increasing importance for to ...

with the existing westbound line to

and the rest of

. As a consequence, an expansion of the old station became necessary. A proposal to build a new station close to the old Nørreport (''Northern Gate'')

was abandoned due to opposition from the

Rigsdag The Rigsdag ( ) was the name of the national legislature of Denmark from 1849 to 1953. The Rigsdag was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, t ...

, Denmark's parliament. In the end, it was decided to replace the old station and build a new larger station near the location of the old one. The construction started in 1863 and the station opened on 14 October 1864. As planned, the new railway station was also to service the new northbound railway lines that opened the year before, the

North Line North Line may refer to: Transportation Asia *North Line, Chennai Suburban, India * North-Link Line, Taiwan *West North Line, Chennai Suburban, India Europe *Far North Line, Scotland *Gjøvik Line, Norway *Nordbanen, Denmark North America *Milwau ...

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Elsinore and its

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

, the

Klampenborg Line The Klampenborg Line () is a railway line between Copenhagen and Klampenborg in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the shortest (13.3 km from København H) of the six radial lines of Copenhagen's S-train network, a hybrid co ...

Klampenborg Klampenborg is a northern suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, Gentofte municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an ...

The new railway station was located a little north of the location of the old one, on the other side of

. The station building was located approximately where the

Palads Cinema Palads Teatret (the Palads Cinema), also known simply as the Palads, is a cinema operated by Nordisk Film in Copenhagen, Denmark. It offers a wide selection of films in its 17 auditoriums, more than in any other Danish cinema. History The Palad ...

and

Axelborg Axelborg, located across the street from Tivoli Gardens on Vesterbrogade in Copenhagen, Denmark, is home to the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. DLG Group is also headquartered in the building. The building was built in 1920 and was originall ...

lie today, but it was part of a larger facility, as there was a

freight station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...

in the same area. Together with track areas,

depots Depot may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Glacier (disambiguation) * Depot Island (disambiguation) * Depot Nunatak * Depot Peak Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in Chicago, United States * Office ...

, and

turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

, the station area filled virtually the entire area, which today lies between

Axeltorv Axeltorv is a public square in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located across the street from Tivoli Gardens' main entrance on Vesterbrogade. History Axeltorv was inaugurated on 8 November 1917. The grounds were formerly part of Vester, Nørre and � ...

Gyldenløvesgade Gyldenløvesgade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Jarmers Plads in the south east to a Y junction at the western side of The Lakes, Copenhagen, The Lakes, linking H. C. Andersens Boulevard with Aaboulevarden and Rosenørns ...

and Vester Søgade. As traffic increased, several additional smaller station buildings gradually opened in the station area. A separate station called the Klampenborg station for the

had opened already in 1863. In 1887, a significant expansion of the area took place as a new separate station called the Klampenborg station opened for the Klampenborg Line, and the name of the old Klampenborg station was changed to the North station. And in 1896 a separate station for trains to

Holte Holte is a suburban district in Rudersdal Municipality on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The local town centre is centred on Holte station and is surrounded by extensive areas of single-family, detached homes as well as severa ...

on the North Line, the Holte station, was opened just to the north of the North station. Copenhagen_2nd_central_station_perron

The station building was designed by the architect

Johan Daniel Herholdt Johan Daniel Herholdt (13 August 1818 – 11 April 1902) was a Danish architect, professor and royal building inspector. He worked in the Historicist style and had a significant influence on Danish architecture during the second half of the 19th ...

in the

Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a 19th-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particular s ...

that now became popular in the architecture of the Germanic world. After the dismantling of

fortifications of Copenhagen The fortifications of Copenhagen is the broad name for the rings of fortifications surrounding the city of Copenhagen. They can be classified historically as follows: * The medieval fortifications dating from the 12th century * The bastioned for ...

and the abandonment of the demarcation line in 1856, the building could be constructed in red brick. It consisted of two 25-span buildings connected by a wooden arch crowned by a large

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof. Four tracks passed through the hall. The departure side was by the current

, and on this side there were offices, luggage expedition and

waiting room A waiting room or waiting hall is a building, or more commonly a part of a building or a room, where people sit or stand until the event or appointment for which they are waiting begins. There are two types of physical waiting room. One has in ...

s. The waiting rooms were divided into

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

and 3rd class. Further on there was a

royal waiting room A royal waiting room is a space at a train station set up for use by a royal family when they travel by train. According to protocol, a monarch never has to wait. So when they arrive somewhere, everything is already ready. However, this is not feas ...

and then toilets. As the volume of traffic increased, a special freight forwarding building was added. Central Copenhagen around 1905

In the long run, however, this second station also became too cramped, especially because it was a

with only one track leading out of the city which had to cross the lakes of Copenhagen on a narrow dam along

. On the other side of the lakes, the track split in two: to the west via Frederiksberg station to

and

Frederikssund Frederikssund () is a Denmark, Danish town, seat of the Frederikssund Municipality, in the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Hovedstaden with a population of 17,583 (1 January 2025).

and to the north via

Nørrebro station Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official Districts of Copenhagen, districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the Indre By, city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantle ...

and

Hellerup station Hellerup station is a regional and S-train railway station serving the suburb of Hellerup north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The station is an important junction which is served by regional trains on the Coast Line, as well as several lines of the ...

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

and

. The tracks are long gone, but large sections can still easily be seen in the street network. The large Nørrebro Park and the

Superkilen Superkilen is a public park in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The park is designed to bring immigrants and locals together, promoting tolerance and unity in one of Denmark's most ethnically-diverse and socially-challenged communi ...

public park in

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...

are located on the grounds of the former

Nørrebro Station Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official Districts of Copenhagen, districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the Indre By, city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantle ...

. Matters were made worse from the fact that the tracks had several

level crossings A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The te ...

on the way out of the city, which with the steadily increasing train traffic led to frequent blockages for the equally steadily increasing road traffic when the barriers were down.

The third and current railway station

By the end of the 19th century, it had become increasingly clear that the conditions at the second railway station had become too narrow and outdated. Already from the end of the 1870s, it was discussed how to solve these problems with Copenhagen's railway connections. After many years of discussions, the

, Denmark's parliament finally decided in 1904 to build a brand new railway station, approximately at the location of the first station. The new station was to be a

through station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such a ...

with the tracks of the westbound lines leading south from the new station out of the city along

Ingerslevsgade Ingerslevsgade is a street in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins on the rear side of Copenhagen Central Station and follows the northwest side of the railway tracks to Enghave station. It also passes the Dybbølsbro stat ...

via Valby station towards

and

Frederikssund Frederikssund () is a Denmark, Danish town, seat of the Frederikssund Municipality, in the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Hovedstaden with a population of 17,583 (1 January 2025).

, and the tracks of the northbound lines leading north from the new station through a

railway tunnel Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Østerport station The fortifications of Copenhagen underwent a comprehensive modernization and expansion in the 17th century. The project was commenced and was largely the masterplan of Christian IV in the early 17th century but was continued and completed by his s ...

and continuing north from there via

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Elsinore. Copenhagen_Central_Station_1911

The new station was opened on 30 November 1911 by Crown Prince Christian, who stated: The following day, 1 December, the first train departed from the station. Boulevardbanen-aug-1914

Since the northbound tunnel (the

Boulevard Line The Boulevard Line () is a long partly underground railway between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport Station in Copenhagen, Denmark. The quadruple track railway carries today one dual track for the Copenhagen S-train system and another d ...

) was not opened until 1917, the new station was initially only served by trains on the westbound lines, and the old station continued to serve the trains on the northbound lines for a period. With the opening of the first

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

of the Boulevard line on 1 December 1917, the direct connection with

was established. Now trains along the line from Copenhagen to Elsinore could continue directly to the new central station, just as trains along the

were diverted via Østerport from the previous route from Hellerup via Nørrebro to the second station. However, it was not until the opening of the second double track of the Boulevard line on 1 October 1921, that trains on the Copenhagen to Hillerød line from Hillerød were diverted through the tunnel. The old station could thus finally be permanently closed. The station was overhauled in 1980. Escalators and lifts were established to the platforms, and the station concourse, which was originally split into arrival, departure, and freight sections, was redone completely. The station was overhauled again from 2004 to 2008. This overhaul replaced the roof, lowered platforms 3 to 6 to international standards and lengthened them. The towers and the bridge over the platforms, upon which the main station building is placed, were reconditioned.

Architecture

The station was designed by Danish architect

, who was head architect of the

Danish State Railways DSB, an abbreviation of ''Danske Statsbaner'' (, ''Danish State Railways''), is the largest Danish train operating company. It's also the largest train operating company in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on ...

from 1894 to 1921. The creation of the station project proved to be difficult. In the years 1898–1902, Wenck prepared several proposals for a new multi-storey station building, which, however, were rejected by the Rigsdag for being unnecessarily lavish. In most of these proposals, Wenck proposed a combined station and administration building for the

, which was rejected. The roof of the Hall of the Copenhagen Central Station

The station is designed in

National Romantic style The National Romantic style was a Nordic architectural style that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to be a form of Art Nouveau. The National Romantic style spread ...

, a

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

architectural style An architectural style is a classification of buildings (and nonbuilding structures) based on a set of characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, for ...

that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and which is often considered to be a form of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

. The prominent materials are brick,

and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, and a host of decorative details have been added. Inspired by Herholdt's railway station, Wenck also used a wooden arch construction both in the two departure and arrival halls and in the 6 arches over the platforms. It was probably just as much a stylistic choice, since Wenck rarely used

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

. However, the entire railway station's foundation, basement and the platform that support the railway station site are made of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

Copenhagen Central Station - stained-glass windows

Wenck's building is a

gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. ...

, where the architect has drawn all the details; right from the Bornholm tiles, benches, the large chandeliers, of which 12 pieces originally hung (2 are set up in the hall, 2 others are found at Østerport Station), the kiosks, wrought iron signs with neat writing, door handles and brass signs with DSB logo and stained glass windows with city coats of arms from Danish cities. Copenhagen Central Station - reliefs 02

The Danish sculptor

Jens Lund Jens Martin Victor Lund (18 November 1871, Copenhagen – 10 June 1924, Hellerup) was a Danish painter, designer and graphic artist. Studies His father was a cabinetmaker for the Royal Court. He left school in 1886, after the loss of both of h ...

was responsible for the ten folkloristic figures of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

on the main facade representing persons in

folk costume Folk costume, traditional dress, traditional attire or folk attire, is clothing of an ethnic group, nation or region, and expresses cultural, religious or national identity. An ethnic group's clothing may also be called ethnic clothing or ethnic ...

s from various parts of the country (1910):

Amager Amager ( ), located in the Øresund, is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 216,000 inhabitants (January 2022). The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (including Kalvebod Fælled) makes up more than one-third of the ...

Fanø Fanø () is a Danish island in the North Sea off the coast of southwestern Denmark, and is the very northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands. Fanø Municipality () is the '' kommune'' that covers the island and its seat is the town of Nor ...

, Hedeboegnen,

Læsø Læsø ("Isle of Ægir, Hlér") is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Denmark, Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality (Danish language, D ...

Mols Mols is a small Danish gathering of hilly peninsulas in the southern part of the larger peninsula of Djursland on the east coast of Jutland. The largest peninsulas of Mols comprise Skødshoved to the west, and Helgenæs to the east. Mols' ...

Ringkøbing Ringkøbing (older spelling ''Ringkjøbing'') is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality in Central Denmark Region, Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. It has a population of 9,830 (1 January 2025).

Salling Salling is a peninsula located in the north-west of the larger Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The largest city in Salling is Skive, and smaller towns and villages includes Jebjerg, Roslev and Glyngøre. The Sallingsund Bridge connects the penin ...

Samsø Samsø (Anglicized: "Samso" or "Samsoe") is a Denmark, Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 3,724 inhabitants (2017) (January 2010:4,010) called ''Samsings'' and is ...

Skovshoved Skovshoved is a former fishing village on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The area is part of Charlottenlund postal district and Gentofte Municipality. Local landmarks include Skovshoved Church, Skovshoved Hotel and the listed Ar ...

and southern

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

Layout

The station has 7 platforms and 13 tracks. The platforms begin under the main passenger hall (and at least the S-train section, two platforms with a total of four S-train tracks, of the station can be said to begin as an underground station). A hotel (''Astoria'') is built above the S-train tracks in the Northern end, but the remaining tracks are uncovered below street level. (Open areas between tunnel sections were necessary to have during the era of steam trains, while the S-trains always have been electrical). In the opposite (platform) end, all platforms are covered with the typical railway arched roof. This roof is shorter than the platforms, but all tracks remain below street level and can also be accessed from the street ''Tietgensgade''. In addition to the original 6 island-platforms and their 12 tracks, has one additional track constructed much later. The single spare track, called track 26, was initially built for trains to southern Sweden, while Malmö C still was a terminus. It has later been used for express trains to or from Sweden or to or from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. After the introduction of border controls and mandatory identity checks for travel to Sweden this track was fenced and used for X2000 and intercity trains to Sweden. The extra track 26 is located south of the main building and is reachable only by walking along the platform for track 4 and 5 or from a staircase from the Tietgensgade street. There is a plan to extend the length of this track and build another track on the other side of the same platform, called track 27, and improve walking access to them. The station services the

Copenhagen S-train The Copenhagen S-train (), the S-train of Copenhagen, Denmark, is a key part of public transport in the city. It is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban rail serving most of the Copenhagen urban area, and is analogous to the S-Bahn systems of Ber ...

network, but the

system in Copenhagen doesn't use any kind of hub at all. It is an urban transit which differs from most

Metro system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tu ...

s mainly by being a type of railway. At the station are two platforms with four tracks (track 9–12) that are used by the S-trains only. All other trains usually use the other four platforms and eight tracks. Because Denmark uses

right-hand traffic Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes called the ' ...

, the tracks 1–4 are mainly used for northbound traffic, and tracks 5–8 for southbound, but tracks 3–6 can also be used for trains that change direction at the station.

Facilities

The hall of the Copenhagen Central Station

The main concourse also functions as a marketplace where fresh fruit sellers, newsstands, a post office, ATMs, currency exchanges, hamburgers, coffee shops, restaurants and pubs can all be found. There is also a travel center for information, a police station, and windows for the in-person sale of tickets, along with access to toilets. Shower rooms are also available for a smaller fee.

Services

Copenhagen Central Station provides Copenhagen with Intercity and Express trains across Denmark, as well as services to several international destinations. Direct international trains connect to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

several times a day.

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

trains run half-hourly from Copenhagen during daytime and serve as a link between the major cities and towns in Denmark, including

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

Thisted Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,505 (1 January 2025)Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Regional train Regional rail is a public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connecting smaller cities a ...

s (stops at major stations within the Greater Copenhagen area) connect the main parts of Zealand to the capital. The

Øresundståg Øresundståg (, ) is a passenger train network operated by Transdev in the transnational Øresund Region of Denmark and Sweden. The name is a hybrid of the Danish ''Øresundstog'' and the Swedish ''Öresundståg'', both meaning "Øresund train ...

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

network depart to southern and western Sweden every 20 minutes (24/7 service between Lund Central Station and Østerport Station). All

services except the F-line stop at the station. From 29 September 2019 the Central station is also served by the Copenhagen Metro network's line M3 (in service 24/7), which is a circular line with 17 stations. The station is also served by the M4 line, linking the Nordhavn and Sydhavn districts and serve as an interchange between the Sydhavn extension and the M3. Long-distance buses stop at

near track 12 just south of the

bridge. All public transport within Greater Copenhagen are divided into close to 100 ticket fare zones. The Central station is located in fare zone 1, which together with zones 2 and 3 constitute Copenhagen municipality and the "enclave" of

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

municipality. As the cheapest single ticket always is valid in two zones, a single ticket bought at the station is valid within the entire city centre and its inner boroughs. A ticket to Copenhagen Airport Kastrup, however, demands the payment for three zones since it is located in zone 4. A special ticket fare system exists between the Copenhagen local traffic area and the most southern part of Sweden,

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

county.

Future

The station needs more capacity following the opening of the

Copenhagen–Ringsted Line The Copenhagen–Ringsted line is a high-speed railway on Zealand, Denmark, connecting Copenhagen via Køge with Ringsted. The line was inaugurated on 31 May 2019, and started operating on 1 June as the first high-speed railway in Denmark. It ...

on 31 May 2019. The

Danish Ministry of Transport The Danish Ministry of Transport () is the Danish ministry in charge of coordinating and realizing the transport politics of Denmark. The Ministry is headed by a Permanent Secretary. The Ministry of Transport employs approximately 140 staff. ...

has started planning of an extension: proposals include a four-track

on a bridge over the present tracks, or in a tunnel under them.

Number of travellers

According to the ''Østtællingen'' in 2008:

Cultural references

In film

Copenhagen Central Station is used as a location at 1:12:36 in the 1975 ''

Olsen-banden The ''Olsen Gang'' (, ) is a Denmark, Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual o ...

'' film '' The Olsen Gang on the Track''. Egon (

Ove Sprogøe Ove Wendelboe Sprogøe Petersen (21 December 1919 – 14 September 2004) was a Danish actor. Life Born in Odense, his parents were Arthur and Inger Sprogøe Petersen. He married Eva Rasmussen in 1945, with whom he had three children. One of ...

) hides a suitcase in the luggage storage at Copenhagen Central Station in ''

The Olsen Gang Outta Sight ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1977) and the lost luggage department is also used as a location later in the same film.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

responsible for

maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

and

traffic control Traffic management is a key branch within logistics. It concerns the planning, control and purchasing of transport services needed to physically move vehicles (for example aircraft, road vehicles, rolling stock and watercraft) and freight. Traff ...

on most of the Danish railway network *
DSB
– largest Danish

train operating company In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...

*
Danske Jernbaner
– website with information on

railway history The history of rail transport began before the beginning of the common era. It can be divided into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of track material and motive power used. Ancient systems The Post Track, a prehisto ...

in Denmark {{Heinrich Wenck

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

Art Nouveau railway stations Central Heinrich Wenck railway stations Listed railway stations in Copenhagen Central

Central Railway stations in Denmark opened in 1847 Railway stations in Denmark opened in 1864 Railway stations in Denmark opened in 1911 Central Transit centers in Denmark

Vesterbro, Copenhagen